Dynamics of nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton interaction in the presence of viral infection

Abstract

Plankton (singular plankter) are the diverse collection of organisms that live in large bodies of water and are unable to swim against a current. They provide a crucial source of food to many large aquatic organisms, such as fish and whales. In the present paper we have considered a nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton system with viral disease circulating in phytoplankton population. We have studied the local stability of different equilibrium points under some threshold conditions. We have also studied the significance of the different basic reproduction numbers. We have worked out the conditions for Hopf bifurcation and persistence of the system. Our numerical simulations reveal the core results of the present study. Our simulation results exhibit that the system enter into oscillations from stable focus. This viral disease induced plankton oscillations can be stabilized by increasing of nutrient input. It is concluded that viral infection and nutrient input may play important role in controlling plankton dynamics.